Abilities:
Ability 1 - [Static]: 30% Chance to paralyzes from a contact move
Dream World Ability - [Plus]: If allied with a Pokemon with Plus or Minus, the wielder's Special Attack increases by 50%||Mega-Ability - [Mold Breaker]: Abilities that hinder attacks are nullified.

Ampharos is one of the lucky few Pokemon to start out with a Mega-Evolution stone this generation. Ampharos looks sub-par option compared to the absolute power offered by Adaptability MegaLucario, Speed Boost Blaziken, and Huge Power Mawhile. Ampharos appears to be in direct competition with those powerhouses because its stat that was increased the most was its special attack stat by 50 points. With lackluster speed, which is decreased when it Mega-Evolves, and "only" 165 Special Attack, just how can Ampharos compete?

Upon closer inspection, however, we can see that Ampharos offers an entirely different niche. When Amphaos goes through Mega-Evolution, it receives a Dragon-typing, which gives it 3 extra x0.5 resists and a x.25 to Electric type attacks! In addition, it gives Ampharos a Dragon STAB which compliments Electric quite nicely, since neither Fairy nor Steel resist Electric. In addition, its once sub-par base 75 Defense is buffed up by 30 points to base 105 and its already high special defense is buffed up to base 110. Overall it has solid bulk with base 90 HP / 105 Def / 110 SpA. Mold Breaker allows for it to spam its Electric Attacks with impunity because Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb will not longer affect Electric attacks. In addition, it allows for its support moves to be more potent against teams with a Magic Bouncer (looking at you Mega-Absol). Lastly, Ampharos has some nifty support moves under its belt such as Heal Bell, Reflect, Light Screen, and Thunder Wave.

So what happens when you take all of that into consideration? Ladies and gentleman, meet the most optimized pivot switch in the metagame.

Volt Switch that is only blocked by Ground-types, a spammable 130 base power STAB, great resistances, bulk, good support options, and low speed to get safe switchins. What more could you ask of a pivot? Ampharos can do it, and this set aims to do it well.

Volt Switch is the key move on this set. Ampharos' lowered speed is a blessing in disguise because that lowered speed allows it to tank the hit for your teammate so your teammate can come in safely. Ampharos' good bulk and stellar resistances means it can tank those hits quite well. Volt Switch is sure to sting the opponent coming off of STAB and 165 Special Attack. Ampharos has an advantage over other Volt Switchers in that it can Volt Switch through Pokemon with Lightningrod and Volt Absorb.

Draco Meteor is the second key move on the set. At 130 base power and backed up by STAB, it is the strongest move in Ampharos' arsenal. Draco Meteor compliments Volt Switch perfectly because you can reset Draco Meteor's drop in power with Volt Switch and it puts the opponent in a precarious position. "Should I stay in and die to the Draco Meteor or face the risk of Ampharos gaining momentum through Volt Switch?"

Move 3 is where one can change up there set. Thunderbolt is the first choice because it provides a more reliable and powerful Electric-STAB move, which can be important to smack fairies around. It can be important to stopping SubDD Gyarados. If you feel running two Electric-STAB's is redundant, Focus Blast can be used to hurt Tyranitar and Ferrothorn. It is important to note no Steel-type outside of Ferrothorn in OU resists Electric though. Thunder is an option if you are on a rain team / running rain dance / want the extra power to go through Faries.

Move 4 is you most varied slot and where your support option can come in. Heal Bell can be an amazing asset for offensive teams to recover off status, which is quite useful versus defensive teams. Just one use heals all the status on your team and the potential for your team to recover any lost momentum. On the otherhand, Mold Breaker Thunder Wave is an awesome option against opposing offensive teams. Magic Bouncers such as Mega-Absol nor Volt-Absorbers such as Thundurus-T will be able to avoid the status. The only way would be able to switch in a Ground-type, but how many of those want to take a Draco Meteor? You could also run an an all-out attacking set with Thunderbolt + Focus Blast.

That isn't even the end of the fourth slot. You can also run either of Reflect or Light Screen to beef up your next switch in or you can run Rain Dance + Thunder to hit Fairies and Steels much harder.

Personal Opinion of the pokemon and conclusion (roughly one paragraph)
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Ampharos has a lot to compete against for a Mega-Evolution slot on a team. While initially in this generation I don't think it will receive very high use, I am sure as time goes on people will opt for Ampharos for their Mega-Evo slot because Mega Gengar is a broken piece of shit and will be banned they will recognize the awesome utility that Ampharos can bring to a team. Ampharos can ease the switch-ins for a team extremely well, and it also has a unique dual-STAB with Dragon that is resilient to the introduction of Fairies and the popularity of Steel-types. The three best Fairies so far: Azumarill, Togekiss, and Mawhile do not have a resistance to Ampahros' Electric-STAB. Azumarill and Togekiss are weak to it actually.

Anyways, Mega Ampharos looks like it could be a really cool Pokemon to use in OU. It's powerful, has a great offensive and defensive typing, and on top of that it's an incredible bulky pivot, as you stated. There's only one problem; it takes up a Mega slot. It's not that it faces competition from anything as a Pokemon, it's just that other Megas like Lucario, Gengar, and even Absol give it a lot of competition for a slot on a team. Most people would rather use something like Lucario who has similar nuking power but also has insane Speed, priority, and Swords Dance. Mega Ampharos is still a very solid Pokemon though, and I can see it being useful on bulkier teams that want to run something powerful, but bulky and with a great defensive typing. Heal Bell is so cool as well, which gives it another reason to warrant it a spot on a team.

Although Mega Ampharos may not find many opportunities to shine in OU, this thing will be so deadly in the lower tiers. Any one who has played RU this generation knows just how dangerous a bulky, powerful Dragon-type can be, and Mega Ampharos is no exception. Although Fairy-types give it problems, and seeing as most Fairy-typed Pokemon are more lower tier material, Mega Ampharos might find it hard to just nuke everything as long as the opponent is packing a bulky Fairy-type. Even then, even the bulkiest of Fairy-types wont like taking two consecutive Thunder's to the face, as most of them are 2HKOed by it. Seriously though, Druddigon single handedly dominated RU for most of BW2 when it was first discovered to be amazing, and that thing's stats don't even compare to Mega Ampharos.

All in all, I think Mega Ampharos is a really cool Pokemon, and although it faces stiff competition for a Mega slot, its bulk, amazing power, fantastic defensive typing, and support will give this thing a solid niche on bulkier teams in need of an offensive pivot, and Mega Ampharos is one of the better ones out there for the job. I'm curious to see which lower tier will stomach this monstrosity, but I guarantee whatever tier it ends up in, it will dominate there.

Wow, this thing is gonna murder in Trick Room teams. His excellent bulk and typing provide it with a decent couple of switch-in chances, so that it can in turn bring in with Volt Switch a Trick Room user to start wrecking shit. His low Speed works on his favor on such teams, and he has a great deal of power too, doubling as a cleaner / hard hitter in addition to pivot. Heal Bell is just the cherry in the top!!!

However, outside of Trick Room teams, this thing is very slow to play any big role. Also, while his typing is good it's nothing notable defensively, as all of the moves it resists are often paired with super effective ones (Water + Ice, Steel + Fairy, Electric + Ice)in the same moveset. Finally, the lack of any kind of reliable recovery makes Mega Ampharos almost impossible to use on anything other than an offensive teams, where it doesn't really fit either, because of its lack of pivoting utility (doesn't check key offensive Pokemon).

However, outside of Trick Room teams, this thing is very slow to play any big role. Also, while his typing is good it's nothing notable defensively, as all of the moves it resists are often paired with super effective ones (Water + Ice, Steel + Fairy, Electric + Ice)in the same moveset. Finally, the lack of any kind of reliable recovery makes Mega Ampharos almost impossible to use on anything other than an offensive teams, where it doesn't really fit either, because of its lack of pivoting utility (doesn't check key offensive Pokemon).

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Can't you say that about most dragon with the resist thing though, especially now with fairy type. While your right in that it has normal recovery, What about rest? Resttalk + decent overall defense + okay typing + good movepool = looks at least okay on paper.

Although Mega Ampharos may not find many opportunities to shine in OU, this thing will be so deadly in the lower tiers. Any one who has played RU this generation knows just how dangerous a bulky, powerful Dragon-type can be, and Mega Ampharos is no exception. Although Fairy-types give it problems, and seeing as most Fairy-typed Pokemon are more lower tier material, Mega Ampharos might find it hard to just nuke everything as long as the opponent is packing a bulky Fairy-type. Even then, even the bulkiest of Fairy-types wont like taking two consecutive Thunder's to the face, as most of them are 2HKOed by it. Seriously though, Druddigon single handedly dominated RU for most of BW2 when it was first discovered to be amazing, and that thing's stats don't even compare to Mega Ampharos.

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And that's where I agree.

I think this thing will be the Heracross in UU of Gen VI, totally amazing, on every team that's viable, great stats and ability, but just not there for OU. With Gardevoir going to be a new strong player in OU, Ampharos would have to use the Mega-evolve strategically, and run a Special Defense boost simply to survive a STAB Moon blast.

Wow, this thing is gonna murder in Trick Room teams. His excellent bulk and typing provide it with a decent couple of switch-in chances, so that it can in turn bring in with Volt Switch a Trick Room user to start wrecking shit. His low Speed works on his favor on such teams, and he has a great deal of power too, doubling as a cleaner / hard hitter in addition to pivot. Heal Bell is just the cherry in the top!!!

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On a trick room team, especially with Reunicles, this thing will deserve an OU spot.

Ampharos, unfortunately, DOES suffer greatly from not being able to hold an item. Without any boost to its attack power (which is good, but not great, especially with the nerf to Thunder and Thunderbolt) it struggles to do much damage, and without Leftovers, it has no way of recovering health, which defeats the purpose of a specially defensive set for a Pokemon with such few resistances. There's a reason why it's been NU for the past couple generations, and not even top of NU at that. Take away its item by choosing to Mega Evolve Gengar and I don't even see how it'll pull its weight in battle.

Ampharos, unfortunately, DOES suffer greatly from not being able to hold an item. Without any boost to its attack power (which is good, but not great, especially with the nerf to Thunder and Thunderbolt) it struggles to do much damage, and without Leftovers, it has no way of recovering health, which defeats the purpose of a specially defensive set for a Pokemon with such few resistances. There's a reason why it's been NU for the past couple generations, and not even top of NU at that. Take away its item by choosing to Mega Evolve Gengar and I don't even see how it'll pull its weight in battle.

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Just want to point out 252 EV Ampharos has a 34% increase in Sp. Attack upon Mega Evolving, which more than makes up for the lack of Life Orb.

Ampharos, unfortunately, DOES suffer greatly from not being able to hold an item. Without any boost to its attack power (which is good, but not great, especially with the nerf to Thunder and Thunderbolt) it struggles to do much damage, and without Leftovers, it has no way of recovering health, which defeats the purpose of a specially defensive set for a Pokemon with such few resistances. There's a reason why it's been NU for the past couple generations, and not even top of NU at that. Take away its item by choosing to Mega Evolve Gengar and I don't even see how it'll pull its weight in battle.

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actually, reason it is NU is because no one uses ( just like most of the pokemon in the lower tiers), not because it is not very good, it works fine as a special tank as long as you're not stupid, though it does love the leftovers recovery. Also 5 BP means almost nothing, Ampharos has 115 base special attack, a thunderbolt from that thing is going to hurt coming from a tank pokemon.

Can't you say that about most dragon with the resist thing though, especially now with fairy type. While your right in that it has normal recovery, What about rest? Resttalk + decent overall defense + okay typing + good movepool = looks at least okay on paper.

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The main problem of Ampharos when compared to other Dragon-types as a pivot is its Speed. It can outspeed almost nothing, were other bulky Dragons that are used as pivots, such as Latias, Goodra, and Kyurem-B have good enough Speed to otuspeed almsot any defensive Pokemon and even some offensive ones. Idk about a RestTalk set, it could work with a Volt Switch and Dragon Pulse as its two attacking moves, especially now that the sleep counter doesn't reset and so you can take advantage of Volt Switch.

Just want to point out 252 EV Ampharos has a 34% increase in Sp. Attack upon Mega Evolving, which more than makes up for the lack of Life Orb.

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I'm aware of the power increase, but I'm saying that if you choose to Mega Evolve Gengar instead (in the given example from the guy I was replying to), Ampharos is essentially dead weight with no recovery and no boost to its offenses.

actually, reason it is NU is because no one uses ( just like most of the pokemon in the lower tiers), not because it is not very good, it works fine as a special tank as long as you're not stupid, though it does love the leftovers recovery. Also 5 BP means almost nothing, Ampharos has 115 base special attack, a thunderbolt from that thing is going to hurt coming from a tank pokemon.

But when you factor in things like sand (OU), EVs, natures, Leftovers, and the defensive natures that most of these Pokemon play, an ITEMLESS Ampharos's power doesn't seem all that impressive. I've used Ampharos on EVERY team I've ever used in NU and nearly every team in RU, from HO to stall, and it's definitely a force to be reckoned with. But the item really helps, either in the survivability or the power department. Mega Ampharos is much improved from regular Ampharos, but in the given scenario (having two Pokemon with Mega Evolution stones), Mega Evolving Ampharos leaves you with a Gengar with a useless item (still good), whereas Mega Evolving Gengar leaves you with an Ampharos that won't be doing much on its team.

Mega Evolving definitely patches up a big hole that makes it more viable in the upper tiers, though.The tanks that made it strong without recovery of any sort have a mix of excellent defense, offense, and typing that offset it — Ampharos boasts that.

I apologize in advance for any wrong assumptions I make in this post, but doesn't Mega Evolution only trigger once it's in the battlefield? In order for this thing to pivot, it has to switch into a potentially devastating move for it. It's not a Dragon-type until it Mega Evolves, so wouldn't that make him a subpar pivot? You could lead off with it of course, but that also leaves you open to things like CB Dugtrio or Megagar.

I actually wanted to create an Ampharos thread yesterday seeing as how there wasn't one but I'm new to competitive battling and I don't have much experience. Mega Ampharos is one of my favorite mega evolutions and I've been playing with her on my team towards elite 4.

This is the set I had in mind when I try to breed for IVs.
Mega Ampharos
Nature: Modest
31 IVs in HP, SpA, SpDef
252 EVs in HP, SpA 6 EVs in SpDef
Dragon Pulse
Rest
Cotton Guard
Thunder/Thunderbolt

Knowing Ampharos has bad speed, I felt it's best neglect the speed stat. Instead we focus on defensive bulking, rest cures any status and cotton guard gives +3 def. With dragon/electric attack moves you're gonna be able to hit every type for at least neutral damage.

Edit: Since Ampharos only has one weakness before mega evolving, one thing I'm thinking of is that you could also use cotton guard before mega evolving to outread people who think you're going to megaevolve into electric/dragon and hit you with ice/dragon/fairy.

The main problem of Ampharos when compared to other Dragon-types as a pivot is its Speed. It can outspeed almost nothing, were other bulky Dragons that are used as pivots, such as Latias, Goodra, and Kyurem-B have good enough Speed to otuspeed almsot any defensive Pokemon and even some offensive ones. Idk about a RestTalk set, it could work with a Volt Switch and Dragon Pulse as its two attacking moves, especially now that the sleep counter doesn't reset and so you can take advantage of Volt Switch.

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IMO people are getting way to hung up on its low speed stat. Pivots do not need good speed to do their job: just look at Rotom-W, Celebi, and Scizor. All of them fit on offensive teams just fine as is, even with low speed. As a matter of fact, some Rotom-W's have lowered speed IV's to gain momemntum in a mirror matchup with Volt Switch!

Yeah the lack of reliable recovery does stink. Latias / Kyurem do have that but they also run Life Orb which forces them to take more residual damage overall. If I am to believe Mario With Lasers then it will be stronger than Life Orb Latias. In addition, people who are saying that Ampharos is not strong have no idea what they are taking about. It's special attack is on par with neutral Life Orb Latios, as a matter of fact it is slightly stronger! azureleaf17 I am not so sure what you are trying to prove, because getting 2HKO's on some of the better special walls in OU (and some irrelevant ones), especially on TTar and Ferrothorn with Focus Blast who I considered counters, doesn't show it is weak. It actually shows quite the opposite.

Anyway as a pivot, Ampharos will have to use its access to Volt Switch to gain switch initiative, extra power to differentiate itself, and his great secondary STAB to differentiate itself from the competition. That aside:

On competing with other Mega-Evolutions:

I completely agree that Ampharos will see little use because Mega-Lucario, Mega-Blaziken, and Mega-Gengar are way better. Though I think this will be the case at least initially.

I know we aren't supposed to really talk about it on here, but I can't think of any other way to express my point. Do you really think Mega Lucario, Mega-Gengar, and Mega-Blaziken really going to fly in OU? I think we all know a little bit inside that they are going to go to Ubers.
No one going to put up with a Shadow Tag user that outspeeds all Putsuit trappers, has the power of a Life Orb base 130, phenomenal coverage, and Perish Song.

No one is going to deal with a Blaziken with a. buffed up stats to match Life Orb b. can now Baton Pass speed boosts because of new breeding mechanics. It literally destroyed the DW metagame which had everything in the game to stop it (top DW teams used it...)

No one is going to deal with a sweeper with enough power to literally 2HKO everything in the game with SR down and just one SD under its belt. Oh yeah that sweeper has priority that matches Technician Bullet Punch found in Scizor. Seriously the calcs speak for themselves: (note that Fairies are destroyed by a STAB Adaptability Bullet Punch that aren't listed on here) (Crunch - Close Combat - Bullet Punch)

Hide(Move your mouse to the hide area to reveal the content)Show HideHide Hide

Intimidate is included in these calcs for pokemon such as Gyarados and Landorus-T.

So yeah. I expect when the competition clears out, Ampharos has a good shot at OU. It will only remain UU initially because some of the Mega-Evo's it has to compete against are so utterly ridiculous. It doesn't suck, it just isn't absolutely-fricken-amazing compared to the three I listed.

edit: change lucario to base 145 from base 150. it doesn't matter though same ko's achieved

ThePillsburyDoughBoy, all of the pivots you mentioned have decent Speed and they can outspeed some defensive Pokemon. Rotom-W is in way slow, is immune to entry hazards besides SR, has Leftovers, has semi-reliable recovery which it always uses on its pivoting sets (those with max or near Max HP), and outspeeds many defensive Pokemon (Skarmory, Hippowdon, Heatran, Vaporeon, Jellicent, and Jirachi are all defensive Pokemon that Rotom-W can outspeed and cripple or OHKO). Celebi has Leftovers, Recover, and Natural Cure over Mega Ampharos as a pivot, which make it one of the best pivoting Pokemon. It also has good Speed. Finally, Scizor has the strongest priority in OU to make up for its lack of Speed and has a way better defensive typing, so it can't really be accused of being a slow pivot that succeeds despite its lack of Speed (because Bullet Punch makes it really fast in certain occasions). Mega Ampharos is prone to all hazards and lacks Leftovers, making it incredibly easy to wear down with just a couple of U-turn / Volt Switches + SR. When it goes down to 60-70% health by this tactic, any offensive Pokemon can 2HKO it, even those that it is supposed to check. Even some defensive Pokemon will be able to OHKO / 2HKO it before it can act, due to its low Speed which will ensure it almost always plays last.

Its viability is OU seems undeniable. it has outstanding bulk and resistances and enough utility with certain moves that ANY team can benefit from. It will have endless opportunity to switch in and Volt Switch is indeed just what one might need to get and essential booster in. The speed isnt enough of an issue that he be unuseful. What team doesnt want paralysis support after all? If you run bulky offense like I will be doing than this guy is perfect for dealing that stuff out. A screen and Heal Bell are also great and makes other members of your team capable of running Rest as a recovery move. As with many Megamon his main problem will be a Megamon slot competition. On CERTAIN teams however, like bulky offense, he can make an excellent choice. I predict however UU though because, again, competition

84Spd Evs is just enough to outpace Garchomp (base 102speed) after one agility boost. Modest nature and 252sp atk for maximum power and I put the rest of the Evs in hp for bulk. Static over Plus for abilities before the mega evolution because plus has no competitive use, at least not on my team or most teams for that matter. I chose Thunder over thunderbolt because the difference in power is still a significant gap and my team has done a pretty good job keeping the rain up for a while. Other than that volt switch has endless utility (especially because it can hit volt absorb and lightning rod pokemon because of mold breaker) and dragon pulse is a still a powerful option if the rain isn't up or against ground types. Finally I chose agility over focus blast and hidden power ice because focus blast misses too much and hp ice is just too weak now after the nerf. Ampharos's main job on my team is to act as a bulky pivot and given the chance set up agility and attempt a sweep.

I haven't tried this yet but I can see Bronzong or Scolipede being good partners. Bronzong resists ground (immune), ice, dragon, and fairy, which are all four of ampharos's weakness. It can also set up trick room and stealth rock which will only help ampharos further. Scolipede can set up spikes for ampharos and should be able to pass at least a one, if not two speed boosts. Ampharos will probably take a hit upon receiving the baton pass, however due to it's bulk it should be alright.

This set is built to work wonders in synergy with its electrical spider buddy Galvantuala after he has set up his Sticky Web. Ampharos doesn't MEvo until it uses Cotton Guard once to minimize a chance of a super effective hit. With Sticky Web in play, your foe will be less inclined swap-in their [Insert Ground/Dragon/Fairy/Ice Pokemon] that doesn't avoid Sticky Web, so either status condition move is viable (perhaps Toxic more due to your foes already lowered speed, but if you want to paralyze those that avoid your web to give them speed drops to) This can allow Ampharos to start putting some dents in your foes Pokemon before they Can hit Ampharos.

If you want to optimize OHKOs or 2HKOs dropping some HP for Sp.Atk is possible, but can cut his bulk, but Cotton Guard is a big boost, so this may not matter to much. You may wish to Cotton Guard on an MEvoing Ampharos due to the extra Speed it has over its actual mega stats.

May also work nicely with the rising popularity of ShellSmashHerb Pass of Gorybyss we will see soon.
A Scolipede Baton Pass, again, works with Ampharos's bulk.

I've been playing this guy using a max SPA set with Volt Switch, Dragon Pulse and Thunder Wave. Maybe I am just not familiar enough with the counters in the new generation or maybe the simulator's mega stats aren't correct, but it feels like mega Amphy doesn't tank hits effectively and generally doesn't dish the damage like he's supposed to. I put in Vaporeon Wish Support to support him as well. By far, he's the most replaceable member of my team right now. I'd almost rather he be specs.

This thing fantastic. If aegislash hadnt made earthquake more common than it already was, i would say that this thing had a legitimate shot at OU. Still, I've had a lot of fun murdering a fair share of common threats to the tier like talonflame and rotom. It goes really well with my donphan and sylveon which all may end up UU based on what Ive been hearing.

I mean, it gets a lot more resistances in Mega Amphy (and a lot of weaknesses too...), a slow Volt Switch to gain momentum, and it hits really hard and can switch between attacks (unlike Specs). I think the main problem is that it has no recovery options. Is this too much of a hindrance to use it?

I don't like to run Volt Switch on MAmpharos because he doesn't like to take super-effective hits to the face in spite of his bulk. I'm just doing Thunderbolt/Dragon Pulse/Power Gem/Focus Blast and using him as an offensive pivot and cleaner.

I run Power Gem alongside Focus Miss because Focus Miss.

I think Volt Switch is really the best option if you don't wanna run Power Gem, though. Thunder Wave sounds nice in theory but the reality is that MAmpharos just doesn't force switches as much as we'd like him to, and while he does have the bulk to take hits, he can't take many. At least with Volt Switch you can bring in a Mon for pretty much free thanks to MAmphy's abysmal speed.